An Open Letter To Anderson Cooper 360: The News Cycle Kidnapped Your Show And Is Holding It Hostage In The Media Bubble

Hey there, 360. It's me, Eliza. That blogger that talks about you on the Internets. Lately I've noticed you've been having some trouble. Things aren't going so hot ratings-wise, are they? Just last week there were at least two nights when you were beaten in the demo by Olbermann's repeat. Losing to Greta is one thing, but an MSNBC repeat? Ouch!

A few days ago I blogged that your broadcast had gone from 'quirky and hip' to 'one of the same' and now even sometimes flirts with 'part of the problem.' I've been musing about that lately and thought maybe I'd do some explaining. First of all, I don't want to imply that you've always been some sort of perfect show beacon of cable news, radiating light and truth, and then suddenly went bad. Um, no. Non stop Anna Nicole Smith. O.J. overload. A whole show on Paris Hilton getting out of the clink. Oh, you've had your shame-faced moments to be sure. But you were different. You were better than most. You were interesting and informative.

I've been a loyal viewer for going on four years now. I was with you through Katrina, Sago, a month in the Middle East in 2006, a zillion other field trips, two major elections...you get the idea. If you were reporting, I was watching. Heck, I can even remember back when Rick Sanchez was one of your correspondents and you used to send him to do stupidly hilarious things, which both amused me and made me ponder whether or not you might be trying to kill him. Good times.

I used to jokingly refer to you as "my friend with ADD." Man, those days I never knew what to expect from you. Would you kick it off up top with indepth news about Iraq or the latest chaos in the life of Britney Spears? Damned if I knew. It was like watching several shows in one. But, BUT somewhere along the line you took your Ritalin and wow, improvement! I have actual confidence now that when I turn on your show, you will be leading with something relatively important. You even made a special segment to drop all that crime junk. You made a blogger proud.

I guess that's why it pains me to see how much you've lost your way. Where did your voice go, 360? Now the show I watch looks like all the others, and I don't like all the others. That's why I watched you in the first place. You've been sucked into the media bubble and I'm not sure you even know you're in there. Before I get into specifics, I think there's a couple fundamental questions you need to ask yourself: does immediacy trump everything, and are you a slave to the news cycle?

For instance, it always flummoxes me when I hear reporters lament about how little coverage the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are getting. They're the ones that are in a position to do something about that! I fully realize that there are majorly important things going on in this country right now that are a part of the daily news cycle, but for the life of me, I don't understand why that seems to be all you can cover. Why do you have to wait for a news maker to mention, say, Afghanistan, before you can do a story on that conflict? I can only speak for myself on this, but it was infuriating that day when Drudge outed Prince Harry's location and suddenly the news media was again interested in the forgotten war.

Can we agree that this kind of stuff is absolutely shameful? Because I have to say, when I hear Anderson Cooper talk about our brave men and women and how he emails their parents and whatnot, well, it all rings a bit hollow. This is sad because I do believe that he cares--that you all care. It's just that sometimes your rhetoric doesn't match your coverage. Where are the regular war updates? Do you realize you barely touched on the Status of Forces Agreement at all? The sixth anniversary of Iraq was on Friday and you didn't even mention it. What's going on?

Then there's the other international coverage. Um...where is it? For a while there you were going full bore with the Burma story, doing a great job and then...nothing. Same thing with the recent fighting between Hamas and Israel. You went, they made things difficult, and then you just...gave up? You're good with being all over it when a story breaks into the news cycle in a big way, but you're not so hot with the follow up. I get that you only have an hour and there are a zillion stories you could cover. But that's the whole point. The show I used to know and love doesn't seem to be choosing anymore--you're letting the news cycle do it for you, which destroys the individuality that attracted so many of us initial viewers.

Now, to be fair, I was very pleased with your recent interviews with Ben Affleck and George Clooney on the subjects of the DRC and Darfur, respectively. I'm probably one of the first people to eye-roll over celebrities, but you know what? These guys know their stuff and it was a perfect opportunity to talk about the two regions. If you have to use a celebrity to shine light on the darkness, then so be it. Do. This. More. Often. I am not suggesting trotting out every celebrity to talk about their cause (please don't), but if a columnist or reporter writes something about the conflicts, hey, have them on to talk about it if possible.

There are lots of outside-the-box opportunities to cover these kind of stories. I don't understand why it seems like the show has to physically be in the location of the story, for that story to get a significant amount of coverage. Does Anderson Cooper have some sort of reporting powers that only work outside of the studio? Don't get me wrong, I love it when the show goes out into the field. Anderson's at his best as a journalist and as an energized and passionate anchor when he's in the field. And of course, I'm totally on board with any opportunity for a possible tight t-shirt sighting. Ahem. I just wish it didn't seem like the only time we get any good, say, New Orleans coverage, is when you guys are there.

For example, this past Tuesday night, Sean Callebs had an excellently done--yet infuriating--piece on Katrina cottages in the Big Easy and I couldn't help but wonder why we hadn't heard a lot about the story before. Will we get a follow up, or do we have to wait until the next time you decide to go to the city? Loyal viewers know what you care about, 360. That's why we're loyal viewers--we care about it too. Anderson, dude, it's your show. You worked your butt off to achieve your position. Do the news you care about. Because you know what? When the show isn't into the story, it shows.

I know, I know. Ratings, blah, blah, blah. I'm not going to pretend to know the data you see, or to understand all of the obstacles and limitations you have to work with. I'm just one of those bloggers on the interwebs. I'm not typing from my parent's basement, but I am, in fact, wearing my pajamas. I have no professional qualifications to give you advice. But I've been watching the show longer than probably some of the staffers have worked there, and I can tell you that you've lost your way. Maybe you don't want to be that show anymore and I should just move on. I don't believe that though. The media world spins fast. Sometimes you have to step back.

This post became annoyingly long. I hate to break it to you 360, but I have much more to blog, specifically regarding your in studio coverage (yes, the panels!). So, this is the part where I say, "to be continued."